SantaCon Founder Charged With Fraud Tied to NYC Bar Crawl (1)

SantaCon may have been a con.

Stefan Pildes, the founder and organizer of New York’s annual Christmas-themed bar crawl, was arrested Wednesday on charges that he stole more than half of the $2.7 million SantaCon raised since 2019, despite reassuring participants and business owners that it was all for charity.

Pildes, 50, allegedly spent the money on personal investments, renting a Manhattan apartment, renovating a lakefront house, luxury vacations and fine dining. Only a small amount of the money was actually donated to charity, Manhattan federal prosecutors said.

The SantaCon events have long been controversial for sending thousands of often ...